Japan rains disaster toll rises to 199: government

Agence France-Presse

A member of Maritime Self Defense Forces searches for missing persons at a flood damage site in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture on July 12, 2018. The toll in record rains that have devastated parts of Japan rose July 12 to 199, a top government spokesman said. Local media said search operations are continuing, with dozens of people still missing after the worst weather-related disaster in Japan in over three decades. Jiji Press, AFP

TOKYO, Japan - The toll in record rains that have devastated parts of Japan rose Thursday to 199, with dozens still missing, a top government spokesman said.

Yoshihide Suga said search operations were continuing after the worst weather-related disaster in Japan in over three decades.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who visited one of the worst-affected regions on Wednesday, plans to travel Friday to another area hit by deadly flooding and landslides after the rains, Suga said.

Abe cancelled a four-stop foreign trip due this week as the death toll in the disaster rose.

Hopes for finding survivors have faded a week after the rains began, even though the downpours have now stopped and flood waters have receded.

At least 10,000 people who evacuated their homes or were rescued are now living in shelters, and the government has pledged to set aside emergency funding to help people return home.

"We will do everything we can so that people will not have to continue living in uncomfortable situations in shelters," Abe said at a morning meeting.